The Pocklingtonian 2017/2018 | Page 63

SPORT// HOCKEY GSAL on their home pitch and what seemed like the entire school out supporting them, the Pocklington girls rose to the occasion, again matching their skills and determination. The result, a 2-0 defeat to GSAL, was not a fair overview of the game but as ever, the tournament goes on goals alone. Miss Hornby, teacher of PE at Pocklington School said: “Finishing in third place was a great achievement for the Pocklington girls; when they were quite literally knocked down, they got back up again and played with their hearts on their sleeves.” “The Games department are incredibly proud of the girls’ efforts and as ever, they were wonderful ambassadors for Pocklington School.” U15A XI It was quite clear after the very first game this season that this was a talented squad of young Hockey players. A squad full of wonderfully charismatic personalities, matched with extreme determination and a desire to play Hockey, the girls have been a pleasure to work with. We underestimated ourselves in the build up to our first match, in what we expected to be a tough game against Barnard Castle. However, with some slick stick skills from Grace Beckett, Emma Sweeting and Issy Prescott and the goal scoring ability of our forwards, namely Millie Addinall and the ‘Goal- Machine’ herself Taggy Medforth, we all came off of the pitch rather shell shocked with what we had achieved- an 11-0 win! This was the story for the remaining games to come in the first half term where we had comfortable victories over the likes of Hymers, Hull Collegiate, Worksop and Ashville. The second half of the season however, presented us with teams who matched our skills, determination and athleticism. Ampleforth were the first opposition back after half term and having lost both Grace and Lily Walster to the 1st XI, we knew we had some spaces to fill on the pitch if we were to continue with our winning form. As expected, the U15s were not fazed by the task ahead and Anna Robinson and her defensive unit were superb in what was a tense defensive first half. The game could have gone either way in terms of the final score; both teams were hungry and gritty but after a late goal from a fit and physical Ampleforth side, this was to be our first loss of the season with a 4-3 score line. A huge achievement was our penultimate game against St Peters. A complacent Peters’ team were left rattled by another early goal from Taggy Medforth which put us 1-0 in the first few minutes, and although Peter’s kept matching our score line, we were always one goal ahead. A late equaliser from our opposition levelled the score and we came away with a 3-3 draw. Although the score didn’t reflect how dominant we were during the game, this was a really pleasing result to cap off the season. Well done to the entire squad on their commitment, character and performances this season- same again next year! DISTINCTIONS: Player of the Season: Zaira Gurung Most Improved Player: Charlotte Dick LKH THE POCKLINGTONIAN 61